Yvonne & David Are Starting from Scratch in Sunnyside

After 35 years in a tiny tenement apartment in the heart of the East Village, it was time for a change. What we wanted now was something bright, open, simple and peaceful, with easy access to Manhattan. A 650 square foot studio apartment in Sunnyside, Queens fit the bill perfectly.

We sold or gave away the few furnishings we had, and started from scratch. Months were spent brainstorming and researching, while we lived in an essentially empty space. We ripped out a wall, added an archway and hung mirrors, which made our three rooms feel like a loft apartment. Slowly we began to make purchases: a DWR Zero kitchen table with Eames chairs, a vintage Swedish shelving unit, a SONOS sound system in every room and an American Leather Tuscany sofa. Elegant yet sparse, just a few of our favorite things. In furnishing our apartment we followed Antoine de Saint-Exupery's maxim, "You know you have achieved perfection in design, not when you have nothing more to add, but when you have nothing more to take away."